Gift her a gadget this Valentine's day

Woman would be more pleased to receive electronics rather than traditional gifts, like roses and chocolates, on Valentine's Day, according to a new study.

The study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that women's interest in technology has increased in the last five years, with eight in 10 women now expressing an interest in consumer electronics (CE) products.

Nearly half of those (41 per cent) said they were "very interested" in CE. This is an increase of 10 percentage points over the previous study in 2007.

Though men continue to outspend women on overall CE purchases, the gap between genders is shrinking, the study found.

On average, men spent 728 dollars on CE purchases in the past 12 months while women spent 667 dollars during the same period, a difference of 61 dollars. In the previous study the CE spending gap was closer to 200 dollars.

Women also exert a significant amount of influence on CE purchases. Six out of 10 women initiate or are involved in CE product purchase decisions.

Women, however, are far less likely to claim ownership of most CE products.

The study shows that women are more likely to consider CE products as "household" products, meaning they consider ownership of the device, such as TVs and DVD players, to be shared with a spouse, partner, roommate or child.

But when it comes to newer and mobile technologies, such as e-readers, notebook computers and smartphones, women were more likely than men to claim sole ownership.

"This Valentine's Day, the way to a woman's heart just might be through electronics," said Jessica Boothe, the CEA manager of strategic research.

"Women want technology more than ever and they view electronics as very personal devices that can be toted around and customized with private information," Boothe added.